US Airways 1549 Flight is Airbus A320-214 which, on the ascent after takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009, struck a herd of Canadian swans to the northeast of George Washington Bridge and consequently lost all engine power. Unable to reach any airport, pilot Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles flew a plane into the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan. All 155 people on board were rescued by nearby ships and there were some serious injuries.
The accident was later known as "Miracle on the Hudson", and a National Transportation Safety Board official described it as "the most successful piracy in aviation history." The Council rejected the idea that the pilot could avoid ditching by returning to LaGuardia or moving to nearby Teterboro Airport.
Pilots and flight attendants were awarded the Master Medal of Guild Air Pilots and Air Navigators in recognition of their "heroic and unique flight achievements".
Video US Airways Flight 1549
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On January 15, 2009, US Airways 1549 flight with the 'CACTUS 1549' call sign is scheduled to fly from LaGuardia New City Airport (LGA) to Charlotte Douglas (CLT), with direct service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The aircraft is an Airbus A320-214 powered by two GE Aviation/Snecma CFM56-5B4/P turbofan engines.
The lead pilot was Chesley B. 57-year-old "Sully" Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the US Air Force in 1980. By then, he had recorded 19,663 hours of total flying, including 4,765 in the A320 ; he is also a glider pilot and aviation safety expert. First officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, 49, has amassed 15,643 hours of career flight, but this is his first Airbus A320 job since qualifying to fly it. There are 150 passengers and three flight attendants aboard.
Maps US Airways Flight 1549
Accident
Takeoff and bird strikes
Flights cleared to take off to the northeast from LaGuardia's Runway 4 at 3:24 pm Eastern Standard Time (20:24:56 UTC). With Skiles in control, the crew made its first report after it became aired at 3:25:51 as at 700 feet (210 m) and climbed.
Weather at 2:31 am is 10 miles (16 km) visibility with damaged clouds at 3,700 feet (1,100 m), winds of 8 knots (15 km/h, 9.2 mph) of 290 à °; an hour later it was several clouds at 4,200 feet (1,300 m), winds 9 knots (17 km/h, 10 mph) from 310 à °. At 3:26:37 Sullenberger said to Skiles: "What is Hudson's view today."
At 3:27:11 the plane hit a swarm of Canadian geese at an altitude of 2,818 feet (859 m) about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north-northwest of LaGuardia. The pilot's view was filled with large birds; passengers and crew heard very loud bangs and saw the fire from the engine, followed by the silence and smell of fuel.
Realizing that both machines were dead, Sullenberger took control while Skiles worked on a checklist to revive the engine. The aircraft slowed but continued to rise for a further 19 seconds, reaching about 3,060 feet (930 m) at an airspeed of about 185 knots (343 km/h, 213 mph), then began sliding, accelerating to 210 knots (390 km/h; 240 mph) at 3:28:10 as it descends through 1,650 feet (500 m).
At 3:27:33, Sullenberger sends a mayday call radio to the New York Radar Approach Control Terminal (TRACON): "... this Cactus 1539 [sicÃ, - true sign of call is Cactus 1549], hitting birds. On both machines we went back to LaGuardia ". Air traffic controller Patrick Harten says the LaGuardia tower to hold all departures, and directs Sullenberger back to the Runway. 13. Sullenberger replied, "Can not".
Sullenberger called for controllers for landing options in New Jersey, mentioning Teterboro Airport. Permission is granted for Teterboro's Runway 1, but Sullenberger replied: "We can not do it Ã, ... We'll be in Hudson". The aircraft passes less than 900 feet (270 m) above the George Washington Bridge. Sullenberger ordered the cab address system, "Brace for impact", and the flight attendant delivered the order to the passengers. Meanwhile, air traffic controllers asked the Coast Guard to alert the ships at Hudson and ask them to prepare to help the rescue.
Removing and evacuating
About ninety seconds later, at 3:31 pm, the aircraft made a hookless skip, down south about 125 knots (140 mph 230 km/h) to the center of the North River section of the Hudson's tidal estuary, at 40,7695 à ° N 74,0046 à ° W / 40,7695; -74.0046 on the New York side of the state line, roughly across West 50th Street (near Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum) in Manhattan and Port Imperial in Weehawken, New Jersey. The flight attendants compare the conception with a "hard landing" with "one impact, no reflection, then a gradual deceleration." Ups and downs then start taking the plane to the south.
Sullenberger opened the cockpit door and ordered the evacuation. The crew began to evacuate passengers through the four-door exit and into the inflatable slide/raft that was deployed from the right front passenger door (the left front slide failed to operate, allowing manual inflation grips to be withdrawn). A frantic passenger opens the back door, which can not be sealed by a flight attendant. Water also enters a hole in the fuselage and through an open cargo door, so when the water rises, the officer urges the passengers to move forward by climbing up a chair. One passenger uses a wheelchair. Finally, Sullenberger walked in the cabin twice to make sure it was empty.
The air and water temperatures are approximately 19 à ° F (-7 à ° C) and 41 à ° F (5 à ° C) respectively. Some refugees await knee-deep rescue in the water on partially submerged slides, some wearing life vests. Others are standing on the wings or, afraid of the explosion, swimming away from the plane. A passenger, after assisting the evacuation, discovered that the wing was so crowded that he jumped into the river and swam to the boat.
Rescue
Sullenberger has landed near a boat that facilitates rescue. The submarine NY Waterway Thomas Jefferson and then Governor Thomas H. Kean arrived within minutes and began bringing people on board with Jason's crib. Sullenberger advises the crew to rescue those on the wing first, as they are in greater danger than those who glide, who are released into life rafts. When the plane was flying, passengers on one slide, afraid that the boat will destroy them, shouting for it to avoid. The last person was taken off the plane at 3:55 pm.
About 140 New York City firefighters responded to nearby docks, such as police, helicopters, and various ships and divers. Other agencies provide medical assistance on the Weehawken river side, where most of the passengers are taken.
Aftermath
There were five serious injuries, including an incision wound at the feet of flight attendant Doreen Welsh. Seventy-eight people were hospitalized, mostly for minor injuries and hypothermia, twenty-four passengers and two rescuers hospitalized, with two passengers staying overnight. One passenger is now wearing glasses because jet fuel damages his eyes. No pets were taken on flights.
Each passenger then receives a letter of apology, $ 5,000 in compensation for lost baggage (and $ 5,000 more if they can show a greater loss) and refunds the ticket price. In May 2009 they received the items they had found. In addition, they reported a bid of $ 10,000 each in return for agreeing not to sue US Airways.
Many passengers and rescuers later experience post-traumatic stress symptoms such as sleeplessness, flashbacks, and panic attacks; some started email support group. Patrick Harten, controller who had worked in flight, said that "the most difficult and traumatic part of the whole event is when the event is over", and that he is "gripped by moments of shock and sadness".
In an effort to prevent similar accidents, officials captured and fried 1,235 Canadian swans at 17 locations throughout New York City in mid-2009 and coated 1,739 goose eggs with oil to withstand growing gosling.
Investigation
The partially submerged aircraft was tethered to the dock near the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, about 4 miles (6 km) from the hooked location. The left engine, detached by skipping, is found from the bottom of the river. On January 17 the plane was taken hostage to New Jersey.
An initial National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) evaluation that the plane has lost its thrust after bird attacks is confirmed by cockpit voice analysis and flight data recorders.
Two days earlier the aircraft had experienced a less severe compressor, but the affected machine was turned back on. The damaged temperature sensor is replaced, and the inspection verifies that the machine is not damaged in the incident.
On January 21st, NTSB found evidence of soft-body damage on the right machine along with organic flakes including feathers. The left engine also proved the impact of a soft body, with: "dents in both spinner and inlet lips of a cowling machine." Five guiding inlet guides were cracked and eight grinding guides lost. Both machines, lost most of their homes, were sent to the factory for inspection. On January 31, the plane was moved to Kearny, New Jersey. The remains of the bird were then identified by DNA testing to become Canadian swans, which are usually heavier than machines designed to survive the swallow.
Because the aircraft was assembled in France, the European Aviation Safety Agency (European partner of the FAA) and the Bureau d'EnquÃÆ'êtes et d'Analyses poured la Sà © à © curitÃÆ'à © de l'Aviation Civile (French partner of the NTSB) joined the investigation, with the help technical from Airbus Industrie and GE Aviation/Snecma, respectively manufacturer of airframe and engines.
NTSB uses flight simulators to test the possibility that the flight can be safely returned to LaGuardia or diverted to Teterboro; only seven of thirteen simulated results to the successful La Guardia, and only one of two to Teterboro. In addition, the NTSB report called this simulation unrealistic: "Direct turns made by the pilot during the simulation do not reflect or take into account real-world considerations." A further simulation, performed with a delayed 35-second pilot, crashed. In testimony before the NTSB, Sullenberger stated that there was no time to take the plane to any airport, and that attempts to do so would likely kill them on planes and more on the ground.
The board finally decided that Sullenberger had made the right decision, arguing that the checklist for dual engine failures was designed for higher altitudes, when the pilot had more time to deal with the situation, and that while the simulation showed that the plane might just barely make it back to LaGuardia, the scenario takes the instant decision to do so, without the time allowed to assess the situation.
NTSB concluded its investigation on May 4, 2010, identifying possible causes as "swallowing large birds into each machine, resulting in almost total thrust loss in both engines." The final report credits the results to four factors: good decision making and teamwork by the cockpit crew (including the decision to immediately turn APU on and remove at Hudson); the fact that the A320 is certified for extended overwater operations (and hence carries life vests and additional rafts/slides) although not required for such routes; crew performance during evacuation; and the proximity of the ship that works to the ditch site. Contributing factors are good visibility and rapid response from ferry operators and emergency responders. The report also makes recommendations to improve safety in such situations.
Writer and pilot William Langewiesche confirmed that insufficient credit is given to the A320 fly-by-wire design, in which the pilot uses a side stick to create control inputs to the flight control computer. Computers then force their own adjustments and limits to keep the aircraft stable, which pilots can not rule out even in an emergency. This design allows Flight 1549 pilots to concentrate on reviving the engine and severing its way, no load manually adjusting the glidepath to reduce the rate of the plane going down. Sullenberger said the computer-defined limits also prevented him from reaching an optimal landing landing to ditch, which would soften the impact.
In 2010, a damaged aircraft (excluding its engines) was obtained for the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, which held a reception on June 11 to commemorate the arrival of Charlotte from the fuselage, with Sullenberger as the keynote speaker and invited passenger.
Crew awards and honor
A NTSB board member called ditching "the most successful Ã, ... in aviation history.These people know what they should do and they do it and as a result, no lives are lost."
The crew, especially Sullenberger, were praised, especially by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor David Paterson, who said: "We have a Miracle at 34th Street. I believe we now have a Miracle in Hudson. "US President George W. Bush said he was" inspired by the skill and heroism of the crew, "and praised the emergency responders and volunteers. President-elect Barack Obama says that everyone is proud of "the heroic and graceful work of Sullenberger in a broken aircraft landing." He thanked the crew, who he invited for his inauguration five days later.
The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators awarded the Medal Master crew on January 22, 2009; this is rarely given, for the achievement of extraordinary flights at the discretion of the Master of the Guild. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the crew with Keys to the City, and Sullenberger with a copy of the missing library substitute in flight, Just Culture: Balancing the Safety and Accountability of Sidney Dekker . The rescue team received the Certificate of Honor.
The crew received a standing ovation at Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, and Sullenberger threw his first pitch in the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants. His Giants shirt was inscribed with the name "Sully" and number 155 - the number of people boarding the plane.
On July 28, passengers Dave Sanderson and Barry Leonard held a thank-you lunch for emergency responders from Hudson County, New Jersey, on the edge of the Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, New Jersey, where 57 passengers had been taken after rescuing them. Attending are members of the US Coast Guard, North Hudson District Fire and Rescue Victims, NY Cruise Ship, American Red Cross, First Volunteer Weehawken Volunteers, Weehawken Police Department, EMS West New York, EMS North Bergen, Hudson Emergency Regional Office. Management, EMS New Jersey Task Force, Guttenberg Police Department, McCabe Ambulance, Harrison Police Department, and doctors and nurses who care for the survivors.
Sullenberger was named Grand Marshal for the 2010 Roses Parade Tournament in Pasadena, California.
In August 2010, Jeppesen issued an approach plate entitled "Hudson Miracle APCH," dedicated to five flight crew 1549 and annotated "Presented with Pride and Gratitude from your friends in Jeppesen."
Sullenberger retired on March 3, 2010, after thirty years with US Airways and its predecessor, Pacific Southwest Airlines. At the end of his last flight he was reunited with Skiles and a number of passengers from Flight 1549.
Popular media and culture
The accident was recorded by several closed-circuit television cameras. Television reports and documentaries produced shortly afterwards contained extensive videos of ditching and saving, and recorded interviews with flight crew, passengers, rescuers and other key participants. These include:
- On February 8, 2009, the CBS program <60 Minutes aired three segments that included interviews with aircrews and their reunions with passengers. This program aired again on July 5, 2009.
- "Flight 1549: Routine Converting Takeover"
- "Flight 1549: Saving 155 Souls In Minutes"
- "Flight 1549: Emotional Reunion"
- On February 19, 2009, Channel 4 in the United Kingdom aired a documentary entitled "The Wonders of Hudson Aircraft Damage including personal accounts of passengers, rescuers and witnesses.
- On February 21, 2009, KGO-TV in San Francisco broadcasted an interview in the "Face to Face" series. And Ashley talks to Captain and Ny. Sullenberger about their experience during and since the accident.
- On March 4, 2009, Discovery Channel broadcast an hour-long documentary Crash of Hudson Aircraft - What Actually Happened , with computer-generated (CGI) animations from flights, and interviews with passengers, crew, witnesses, rescuers, and aviation security experts.
- On January 10, 2010, TLC aired a documentary entitled Brace For Impact , which was aired again on April 14th in Australia as Bruce For Impact: Inside The Hudson Plane Crash .
- In March 2011, Ric Elias, a front row passenger shared his experience during the TED conference.
- Beginning in June 2011, the University of North Carolina School of Filmmaking and Process Pictures, LLC is working with the Carolinas Aviation Museum to produce a documentary film, which also sees the impact of incidents in the community.
The accident was featured on the Discovery Channel (Canada)/National Geographic TV series Mayday on the episode of Hudson Splash Down . It was also recreated on the National Geographic Channel TV special titled "Miracle Landing on the Hudson," and in the UK for Channel 5 specifically in 2011.
Garrison Keillor honors the entire crew by writing songs and displaying them on his show, A Prairie Home Companion .
The truancy was referenced in the song "A Real Hero" by College and Electric Youth, best known for the 2011 film Drive. The lyrics of the second verse describe the water landing and the survival of the passengers and crew, and offend the frozen river.
Source of the article : Wikipedia